The Cost of Clinton's North Korean Miracle

The liberal, pro-Obama media will soon have massive coverage of the "miracle" that was just accomplished by Bill Clinton, in this case an Obama surrogate. There will be an abundance of films and interviews and political insight all centered on the glorious return to the USA of the so recently imprisoned American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling. It will all be a fraud and devoid of any concept of reality.



There is no question that all America is pleased with the criminal pardon given by Kim Jing-il and the homecoming of two American citizens. However, the facts need to be examined. These two young ladies were employees of an entity owned by former Vice President Al Gore. They were on assignment to a very volatile region of the Far East. While on assignment they violated the national confines of North Korea, an enemy of America, and were caught, charged, tried, sentenced and began a 12 year term at hard labor. North Korean law and justice is not American law and justice nor is the violated border any way the same as the hourly, no minute by minute, violation of the US-Mexican border. As much as we may disapprove, there is little upon which to base a complaint other than on mercy and humanistic empathy.



Clinton pulled it off but the to date cost is high and the future cost, soon to be disclosed, will be even higher.



The prestige of the United States suffered yet another degradation. The Asia culture, even as stifled by Communism, gives great honor to the elderly and particularly elderly, former world recognized leaders such as Bill Clinton. The first insult occurred when our former President deplaned from his jet and was greeted by a senior member of the North Korean nuclear arms negotiation team and a cute little North Korean girl bearing flowers. North Korea intentionally by passed its Premier; the Premier's son; the Vice Premier; the Chairman of the Communist Party; all senior government officials; and all military leaders as official greeters for the Former American President. No one in Asia missed the slight. Clinton, who claimed he carried a personal message from Obama to Kim Jing-il [a claim strictly denied by the White House], was then subjected to an agenda solely dictated by the North Koreans. After hearing the Communist leader and sitting for a number of photo-ops [note the obvious contrast in the facial expressions of Bill and Kim], it was announced that North Korea would demonstrate its "humanitarian and peace loving policy" by granting the convicted Americans a pardon and allowing them to immediately return with Clinton to America.



The US media has already claimed that North Korea blinked. That the choice of the official greeter was a sign that North Korea was willing to return to nuclear negotiations and that the release of the two American women signaled a desire by Kim Jing-il to better relations with America. The news media is a fool. There is no way that this incident was not prearranged in all details from those involved to the ultimate cost to America. Only last week China and America had high level government conferences as part of the semi-annual US-China S&ED Agreement. Any astute student of international affairs would clearly see that this spontaneous release to Bill Clinton of the two American criminals was a result of discussions and concessions put in place by China on behalf of North Korea during the S&ED conference.



We know the concessions made by North Korea and we know that it was agreed that Obama would be distanced from the transaction. What America has to pay, our concessions, I can only hope are not too ridiculously great.